Just days after the two-year anniversary of the G20 weekend in Toronto in 2010, here’s what we know in the aftermath so far and what could happen next.

On June 26, 2010, the police finally move in on protesters who refused to move. Thousands came out to protest the G20 summit, marshalling at Queen's Park and then marching through downtown Toronto streets. Originally peaceful, the protest eventually turned ugly.

Two years after the G20 summit — which gave Canada both its biggest security operation and largest mass arrest in peacetime history — what have we learned from that ignominious weekend?

Whatever lessons have emerged will not come from a public inquiry, despite continued calls for one. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has consistently maintained that only a public inquiry can make sense of the G20 summit and its complex security operation, which involved officers from the RCMP, OPP and multiple local police services.

We are now left to sift through the reports’ hundreds of pages — from which startling findings have emerged and dozens of recommendations have been made — to look for answers. Here is an accounting of what we now know about the G20 summit, and what’s changed in the two years since:

There has been widespread condemnation of the Public Works Protection Act, the war-times legislation amended during the G20 to give police officers broader powers of arrest. In December 2010, provincial ombudsman Andre Marin said the “illegal” regulation resulted in a “massive” breach of civil rights. In April 2011, an independent inquiry led by Ontario’s former chief justice Roy McMurtry also found the act to be “beyond troubling” and recommended that it be repealed.

Update: In February, new legislation was introduced to replace the archaic legislation. Bill 34 — which applies specifically to courts and hydro plants — has now been ordered for a third and final reading, which will take place this fall after the Legislature resumes.

House of Commons’ Standing Committee G20 report

On Oct. 6, 2010, the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security decided to investigate issues around G8 and G20 security. Over five days of hearings between October and December, the committee heard evidence from several witnesses, ranging from individual G20 protesters to Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair and Public Safety Minister Vic Toews.

In its final report, dated March 2011, the committee reprimanded the government for holding the G8 and G20 summits in two different locations and “deplore(d)” the government’s lack of transparency and refusal to acknowledge that civil rights were violated. The committee called for a public inquiry and made 12 recommendations, including that the federal government and public safety minister formally apologize to Canadians. The committee also recommended the government develop a structure for integrated security operations, which has become the security model of choice for large-scale events, including the upcoming 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.

Update: There have been no apologies and none of the recommendations appear to have been implemented yet, according to Andrew Cash, the New Democrat MP for Davenport who has been pushing to keep the G20 on the federal agenda. “The federal Harper government created too short of a timeline for which they haven’t taken responsibility,” he said. According to Toews’ director of communications, the minister was unavailable for an interview.

Toronto police internal review

Days after the G20, Blair announced he would be conducting an internal investigation of Toronto police’s role in summit security. One year later, he released a 70-page “after-action” review that found officers were overwhelmed and ill-equipped to respond to the “dynamic conditions” presented by the G20. The report concluded with 10 recommendations for improving the service’s ability to police future large-scale events.

Toronto police also identified 123 officers who removed their badges, name tags or epaulettes during the G20 summit; a further 10 were identified by the Special Investigations Unit.

Update: Toronto police spokesman Kevin Masterman said work is still underway to implement the chief’s recommendations. As for the 133 officers found to have removed badges, epaulettes or name tags, 66 have been docked a day’s pay and 53 have lost two days’ pay.

The RCMP’s “public interest” investigation

The report from the RCMP’s watchdog, the Commission for Public Complaints, concluded the national police force acted in a “reasonable and appropriate” fashion during the G20 summit. The report, released this May, also distanced the RCMP from some of the summit’s most controversial events, such as the detentions at the Eastern Ave. temporary jail and arrests at Queen’s Park shortly after Black Bloc rioting broke out. The report found the RCMP’s involvement in kettling was reasonable under the circumstances, even though it violated the force’s own policy.

Seven recommendations were made, including that the RCMP improve structures for intelligence investigations, maintain better records for post-action reviews and improve officer’s note-keeping practices during public order events.

Update: According to Chief Supt. Pasquale Teolis, director general of major events and protective services for the RCMP, preliminary work is now underway to implement all seven recommendations. For example, existing technologies that help the RCMP plan large-scale events are now being updated to also maintain better records for post-action investigations, Teolis said. A project is also currently underway to study existing problems with note-taking and determine how they can be addressed through improved training or procedures.

The OIPRD’s systemic G20 review

For the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD), which opened its doors in 2009, the G20 systemic review was its first true test of mettle — and it appears to have largely passed. In a scathing 300-page report released on May 16, director Gerry McNeilly provided a detailed narrative of the summit weekend and provided a first look at what really happened behind the scenes of G20 policing. The report made several troubling conclusions, including that police officers made unlawful arrests, used excessive force and violated protesters’ Charter rights on several occasions.

McNeilly made 42 wide-ranging recommendations, touching on everything from police procedures to the Police Services Act. The OIPRD has also directed that misconduct charges be laid against 31 Toronto police officers and one York Region officer. No G20-related charges have been recommended for officers from Durham, Halton, Peel or the Ontario Provincial Police.

Update: The Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, which oversees the Police Services Act, said it is still determining its response to the recommendations. As for the Toronto police services board, they have been awaiting the report by former Ontario Appeal Court judge John W. Morden before closely examining the various reports and deciding which recommendations to adopt.

As for the misconduct hearings, they are proceeding at a slow pace. Due to a procedural hiccup, all G20-related charges recommended by the OIPRD must first be approved by a police services board — and in York Region’s case, they refused to grant approval, thus blocking their only G20-related misconduct allegation from proceeding to a hearing.

In Toronto, the police services board has approved all hearings to proceed for the 31 officers alleged to have committed G20 misconduct. Blair has yet to hire a retired judge and former Crown attorney to oversee the hearings, however, though the process is “well underway,” according to police spokesman Masterman. So far, only 10 of the 31 officers have made a first appearance.

The independent civilian review

The final G20 review, ordered by the civilian Toronto Police Services Board and conducted by Morden, was released Friday. In the 425-page report, Morden found that the Toronto Police Services Board has misunderstood its mandate under the Police Services Act and as a result, failed to ask questions about G20 operations and ensure proper civilian oversight. The report came out with 38 recommendations for improving the board’s role and function.

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